DOCSLIB.ORG

Jakubiak Soltysaik Mesopotami

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Jakubiak Soltysaik Mesopotami II. ASTRONOMICAL AND COSMOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN MYTHOLOGY AND RELIGION BALTICA 10 BALTICA MESOPOTAMIAN INFLUENCES ON PERSIAN SKY–WATCHING AND CALENDARS. PART II. ISHTAR AND ANAHITA ARCHAEOLOGIA KRZYSZTOF JAKUBIAK, ARKADIUSZ SOŁTYSIAK Abstract There are a small number of similarities between Ishtar and Anahit, the Persian and Babylonian Venus-goddesses. These similarities may result from cultural diffusion between Persia and Mesopotamia, which was mainly eastwards. We present a comparison of the attributes belonging to both Ishtar and Anahita. This is mainly based on the Mesopotamian sources, since the Persian ones are very meagre. The relationships and influences between the two goddesses are visible in the symbolism of II the planet Venus and the constellation Leo, and are associated with autumnal equinox festivals. II. ASTRO- NOMICAL AND Keywords: Mesopotamia, Persia, Ishtar, Anahita, the planet Venus. COSMOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE IN MYTHOLOGY This paper is the second report on our research concern- tested, though less frequently (Szarzyńska 1997, p.116, AND RELIGION ing Mesopotamian influences on the Persian calendar 177). The three names seem to reflect the three phases and sky-watching. In the first paper, our attention was of Venus visibility. During the third millennium BCE focused on the Sun-gods Shamash and Mithra. It was Inanna was frequently mentioned as the chief goddess presented at the conference “Time and Astronomy in in local pantheon of Uruk and as an important deity Past Cultures”, which took place in the spring of 2005 in other local traditions of southern Mesopotamia. The at Toruń (Jakubiak and Sołtysiak 2006). We intend to Semitic inhabitants of Mesopotamia – first Akkadians, split the whole project into three parts, each devoted then Amorites and others – identified her with Ishtar, to one of the pairs of deities belonging to the triads their most worshipped female deity. attested both in Mesopotamian and Persian religions, An important innovation in the history of Inanna/Ish- namely Shamash and Mithra, Ishtar and Anahita, and tar occurred during the reign of Sargon the Great, the Ahuramazda and Sin. Thus in this report we turn our founder of the Akkadian empire, who promoted the attention to the second pair of deities: the goddesses of goddess as the protective deity of his kingdom. She was the planet Venus, Ishtar and Anahita. equally important to the Sumerians and Semites and thus was conceived to be a symbol of unity. Sargon’s Inanna/ Ishtar and Anahita. daughter Enheduanna composed two hymns to Inanna, Symbolism, iconography which were expressions of her veneration for the god- and attributes dess (Sjöberg 1975). Inanna from Uruk remained a very important goddess figure during the third dynasty of Ur Inanna/Ishtar was the most important female deity in and the first dynasty of Isin (ca. 2100–1800 BCE). The ancient Mesopotamia. Her name is documented first kings of these dynasties legitimized their rule by tak- in the archaic tablets found in Uruk/Warka, which ing part in the ritual performance of a sacred marriage date back to ca. 3200 BCE. At that time she was al- with the goddess. Afterwards, they were recognized as ready connected with the planet Venus and therefore protective gods of the land, and were therefore identi- called dINANA-UD/húd (Inanna of the evening) and fied with Dumuzi/Amaushumgalanna, the god of plant dINANA-sig (Inanna of the morning). The name dI- vegetation and Inanna’s consort in the Urukite tradition NANA-KUR (Inanna of the Netherworld) is also at- (Kramer 1970). 45 In the late second and first millennia BCE, Ishtar re- In an astronomical text from Ashurbanipal’s library (K mained the most important female deity and her dual 5990) the morning star was called (the male) Ishtar of character as the goddess of love and of war was ac- Akkad while the evening star was called (the female) centuated. In fact, many local female deities were Ishtar of Uruk (Heimpel 1982, p.14); the opposite at- Watching Watching – identified as Ishtar and shared her general attributes. tribution can also be found (Reiner 1995, p.6; Koch– However, even when this occurred, these female dei- Westenholz 1995, p.125). This gender dualism was ties were sometimes distinguished from each other sometimes related to the duality of Ishtar’s ascription and always kept a local flavor. The most important as the goddess of both love and war (Reiner 1985a, Mesopotamianon Persian Sky Influencesand Calendars.Anahita Ishtar and Part II. among them were Ishtar from Niniveh and Ishtar from p.30). There is mention of a bearded Ishtar from Ba- Arbil, both worshiped by Assyrian kings. At that time bylon in a Neo-Assyrian hymn dedicated to Nanaya, Ishtar was strongly connected with the god of the Sun and a passage about Ishtar from Niniveh, also with (Shamash) and of the Moon (Sin), and this triad was a beard, in a prayer of Ashurbanipal (Heimpel 1982, TYSIAK Ł frequently represented both in religious texts and in p.15). Ishtar’s androgynous character is also expressed KRZYSZTOF KRZYSZTOF JAKUBIAK, ARKADIUSZ SO representative art, using the symbols of a star, a Sun- in a Babylonian hymn to the queen of Nippur (Lambert disc and a crescent. 1982, p.200). After the Late Uruk period, when the first readable In some local traditions the duality of Inanna/Ishtar documents were produced, Inanna/Ishtar continued to is expressed by a twin female deity. For example, in be associated with the planet Venus. This association early Uruk Inanna and Ninsun were a couple (Cohen remained constant throughout the three-thousand-year 1993, p.215); later, Ishtar was connected with Nanaya. history of the cult of this goddess. In Sumerian texts During the third dynasty of Ur, there is a description she was sometimes called Ninsianna (“heaven’s radiant of a feast of the twin goddesses Annunitum and Ul- queen”) and her name appeared both in the purely as- mashitum celebrated in the capital city; the twin god- tronomical tablets of Ammisaduqa and in a description desses were very likely the two aspects of Inanna. An of the sacred marriage ritual (Jacobsen 1987, p.124; interesting document explaining Ishtar’s dualism is the Heimpel 1982, p.10–11). In post-Sumerian texts even Akkadian hymn to Agushaya, in which Ishtar as the her name was etymologized, as Ninana(k) “the queen goddess of war makes trouble for the people and Ea of heaven” (Jacobsen 1970, p.27); and many other epi- decides to create Saltu – the mirror reflection of Ishtar. thets also pointed to her astral character, e.g. the prayer Unfortunately the tablet containing the text is broken. LKA 70 i 28–29 where she was called “the celestial Nevertheless, the last passage suggests that the god- light that penetrates the heavens and the earth” (Seux dess was not happy with this creation and promised to 1976, p.435). As the goddess of Venus, Ishtar was sym- stay calm for whole year except on the day of the feast bolized by a six- or eight-pointed star. of Agushaya. On this day, people would dance and cel- ebrate in the streets (Foster 1977, p.84). In this respect, it is likely that the famous myth about Inanna/Ishtar descending to the Netherworld (Sladek All these particulars clearly show the important role 1974) was based on an observation of Venus’ internal Ishtar played in the Mesopotamian pantheon as well conjunction (Sołtysiak 2002). The goddess entered the as in popular beliefs. Unfortunately, we do not have at land of the dead in the west, but declared that her aim our disposal equally good sources concerning the role was to travel to the east. The seven elements of her di- of Anahita in Persian religion. vine aura – which she was forced to leave behind, one As is well known, Anahita had long been present in the after the other, in each of the seven gates of the Neth- Iranian pantheon, probably since its origin sometime in erworld – may have been associated with the gradual the Bronze Age. Persians paid homage to the goddess disappearance of the planet into the glow of the Sun. Anahita whose cult continued to be practiced without The story itself was probably composed at the turn of interruption up until the time of the Muslim conquest. the third millennium, but even then it expressed some The Arab conquest of the Sasanian Empire put an end older motifs and was re-written as late as the Neo-As- to the ancient period of the Zoroastrian religion and syrian period. there are indications that references to Anahita also The dualism of Inanna/Ishtar, obviously related to the disappeared almost completely from Persian belief at two easily observed phases of Venus’ visibility, was this point. Our study is focused mainly on the Achae- strongly emphasized both in early and late Mesopota- menid period, but later time periods should not be for- mian texts. There are many explicit mentions of Inanna gotten since they serve to reveal further developments as the goddess of dusk and dawn, e.g. in her ershem- in Zoroastrian religion. During the Achaemenid dynas- ma-hymn (Cohen 1981, p.134). In later periods Ishtar ty, Mesopotamian influences on Persian religion seem was frequently recognized to be an androgynous deity. generally to have been strongest, particularly when the 46 broader relationships between the two lands are taken Iranian deities from the main triad, Shamash and Mi- into consideration. thra (Jakubiak and Sołtysiak 2006). According to the testimony of Beressos the Babylonian, who lived in The name of Anahita can be associated with the Aves- the third century B.C., similar temples dedicated to the tian adjective anahita which is usually connected with Persian triad were erected in nearly every city.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Out of Water Civilizations Emerge Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires
    INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 1 Out of Water Civilizations Emerge Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires Festival of the Passing of the Ice Dragon 8 April 2017 Pentathlon Entry - Literary Arts Research Paper INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 2 Abstract Water or the lack of it has the power to create or destroy empires. From prehistory to the current time period this has been shown to be true. The civilizations who have been able to harness water, transport it and conserve it are the societies that have risen to power. The Persian Empires, from the earliest to the last, were masters of water husbandry. They developed an underground transport system called qanats that enabled them to become one of the greatest empires the world has ever seen. Not only has their knowledge of water transport enabled the irrigation of fields, it provided water for domestic purposes in their homes, to air- condition their homes and allowed the use of sewage systems which helped to keep disease at bay. INFLUENCE OF WATER MANAGEMENT ON EMPIRES 3 Out of Water Civilizations Emerge – Focus on Pre-Islamic Persian Empires Water has controlled the rise and fall of great empires. Rome became a great power when it was able to harvest the water from the Mediterranean Sea, China’s Golden Age developed after the completion of the 1100 mile long Grand Canal for transport of goods and irrigation. Domination of the oceans by the Vikings gave rise to their success. Civilizations are driving by the way in which they respond to the challenges of their environment.
    [Show full text]
  • Frigg, Astghik and the Goddess of the Crete Island
    FRIGG, ASTGHIK AND THE GODDESS OF THE CRETE ISLAND Dedicated to the goddesses-mothers of Armenia and Sweden PhD in Art History Vahanyan V. G., Prof. Vahanyan G. A. Contents Intrоduction Relations between Frigg and the Goddess of the Crete Island Motifs in Norse Mythology Motifs in Armenian Mythology Artifacts Circle of the World Afterword References Introduction According to conventional opinion, the well-known memorial stone (Fig. 1a) from the Swedish island Gotland (400-600 AC) depicts goddess Frigg holding snakes. The unique statuettes of a goddess holding snakes are discovered on Crete (Fig. 1b), which date to c. 1600 BC1. The depiction of Frigg embodies a godmother with her legs wide open to give birth. In Norse mythology Frigg, Frige (Old Norse Frigg), Frea or Frija (Frija – “beloved”) is the wife of Odin. She is the mother of the three gods Baldr, Hodr and Hermodr. a b Fig. 1. (a) Memorial stone from the Swedish island Gotland (400-600 AC) depicting Frigg holding snakes. (b) Goddess holding snakes, Crete (c. 1600 BCE) The Swedish stone from Gotland island depicts the godmother, who is sitting atop the mountain before childbirth (Fig. 1а). Her hands are raised and she is holding two big snakes-dragons. The composition symbolizes the home/mountain of dragons (volcanic mountain). The composite motif of the depiction on the memorial stone, according to the 1 The findings belong to Crete-Minoan civilization and are found in the upper layers of the New Palace in Knossos. Two items are discovered (Archaeological Museum, Heraklion) authors, stems to the archetypes in the Old Armenian song “The birth of Vahagn” 2.
    [Show full text]
  • The Sacred Highlands: Armenia in the Spiritual Geography of the Ancient Near East” – Yerevan
    National Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Armenia Institute of Oriental Studies Artak Movsisyan THE SACRED HIGHLANDS Armenia in the Spiritual Geography of the Ancient Near East YEREVAN UNIVERSITY PUBLISHERS YEREVAN – 2004 This book is being published by order of the National Academy of Sciences RA, Institute of Oriental Studies This publication has been supported by a subvention from the “SPURK-DIASPORA” Organization (Los Angeles, USA) MOVSISYAN A., “The Sacred Highlands: Armenia in the Spiritual Geography of the Ancient Near East” – Yerevan. Yerevan University Publishers, 2004, 76 pages. Cover design – Sumerian seal impression (3rd mill. BC) and a Biblical Map published by Philip Buache in 1783, covering the first era of human history (Eden, the earthy Paradise is marked on the map in Armenia, to the southwest of Mount Ararat). 0503020913 M ------------------ - 2004 704(02)-2004 ISBN 5 - 8084 - 0586 - 6 © Movsisyan, A., 2004 INTRODUCTION The disciples asked Jesus: “Tell us, what will be our end”? Jesus said, “Have you discovered the beginning that you seek the end? For where the beginning is, there too will the end be”. Gospel of Thomas (apocryphal) Just as in the life of an individual, a nation, after overcoming crisis, pauses to take stock, to consolidate, to reconsider its past and to chart its future. The millennia-old questions become paramount: “who am I, where am I from, where am I going”? During the past century, the Armenian people have overcome the most long-lasting and gravest crisis of its history, the loss of its statehood. After centuries of continuous struggle and being subjected to genocide, the Armenian nation has regained its independence.
    [Show full text]
  • THE PLAIN of ERZNKA in the II-I MILLENNIUMS BC Kosyan Aram
    THE PLAIN OF ERZNKA IN THE II-I MILLENNIUMS BC Kosyan Aram Institute of Oriental Studies NAS RA Introduction In our previous study dealing with the contact zone which proceeds along the western and southern reaches of the Armenian Highland it was mentioned that the geopolitical role of its northern section (the plain of Erznka including modern Kemakh [= Arm. Kamakh-Ani]), probably had to be determined not by its economic potential but rather by geographical factor. This part of the eastern highlands was a natural bridge linking Transcaucasia via the Erzurum plain with classical Sophene, and through the latter further with Asia Minor and Mesopotamia-Syria1. Thus, the plain of Erznka we have entitled as the «northern gates», a determination which is proved by available textual and archaeological evidence through centuries. In this article a general outline of the political and cultic-religious realities observed in the region under study should be presented. The chronological frames of the study covers the period from the II mill. BC until the first centuries of the I mill. AD. During the whole historical period under study several characteristics could be distinguished in regard to the plain of Erznka: 1. The plain of Erznka represents a «highway» for different migrations at least from the IV mill. BC. 2. The plain of Erznka was not a home to more or less prominent and stable political entities. 3. The authority of any neighboring statehood over this region seem to be rather nominal than actual. 4. The plain of Erznka at least from the mid-II mill.
    [Show full text]
  • Looys Spring 2017
    ԼՈՅՍ ԼՐԱԳԻՐ | ԳԱՐՈՒՆ 2017 1 SPRING 2017 ԳԱՐՈՒՆ CELEBRATING 85 YEARS Primate visits St. James for Name Day Celebration On Sunday, December 18, St. James observed its 85th anniversary with the annual Name Day celebration and a visit from Diocesan Primate, Abp. Khajag Barsamian. Our parish is named for St. James, the Bishop of Nisibis, whose feast day fell on December 17th last year. At a banquet following church services, longtime parishioners Krikor and Nancy Kassabian were presented with the “Parishioners of the Year” award. Former Sunday School superintendent Marsha Alabachian received the Krikor and Nancy Kassabian were presented with the “Parishioners parish “Service Award” for her decades of service to of the Year” award and former Sunday School superintendent Marsha our Sunday School. Also recognized for their service to Alabachian received the “Service Award.” St. James were outgoing Parish Council members Scott Kapilian and Garo Yavshayan. continued on page 2 CHRISTMAS HIGHLIGHTS 2 LOOYS NEWSLETTER | SPRING 2017 REMEMBERING HRANT DINK continued from page 1 CELEBRATING 85 YEARS Krikor and Nancy met while working at the offices of the and the Women’s Guild Central Council. Krikor and Nancy Baikar/Armenian Mirror-Spectator, and have been active always work lovingly as a team - rarely do you see one without members of St. James since, serving on various committees and the other. When one is asked to help with a project at St. James, taking part in the “Mr. & Mrs.” group. When they traveled to the other is right behind with support, encouragement and Armenia on the first St. James Pilgrimage, Nancy and Krikor “extra pair of hands”.
    [Show full text]
  • Armenian Apostolic Church
    Armenian Apostolic Church The Armenian Apostolic Oriental Orthodox Church, is one of the original Oriental Orthodox churches. The Armenian Church recognizes the Ecumenical Councils of Nicaea (325), Constantinople (381), and Ephesus (431). The decisions and the dogmatic formulations of these councils are the basis of the theological thought of the Armenian Church which help her to protect herself against different sects and religious denominations which threatened her in the past as well as today. Some councils which were recognized by the Latin and Byzantine Orthodox Churches as Ecumenical were denied according to the councils of the Armenian Church. The councils which were not recognized by the Armenian Church as Ecumenical are the following: the Council of Chalcedon (451), the Second Council of Constantinople (553), the Third Council of Constantinople (681) and the Second Council of Nicaea (787). In 451 the Council of Chalcedon, the Universal Church realized its first divergence because of the dangerous ideas put forward regarding the problem of the human and divine nature of Christ. Some oriental bishops did not accept the conclusions of the Chalcedonic Council and were thus separated from the West. Among the oriental Orthodox Church family are the Armenian Apostolic, Coptic, Ethiopian, Assyrian, and Indian Malabar. In fact, Armenian Church did not participate in the Council of Chalcedon (451), because in 451 Armenia were having one of the important battles of his history, Battle of Vartanats. The Armenian church has been labeled monophysite because they rejected the decisions of this council, which condemned monophysitism. The Western Church proceeded with its activities cutting off ties with the Oriental Orthodox Churches.
    [Show full text]
  • Nagorno Karabakh Geo-Politics: Interests and Politics of Outsiders
    The Nagorno Karabakh Conflict. Causes of the conflict and obstacles to conflict resolution. Item Type Thesis Authors Nikkar-Esfahani, Hamidreza Rights <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by-nc-nd/3.0/"><img alt="Creative Commons License" style="border-width:0" src="http://i.creativecommons.org/l/by- nc-nd/3.0/88x31.png" /></a><br />The University of Bradford theses are licenced under a <a rel="license" href="http:// creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/">Creative Commons Licence</a>. Download date 27/09/2021 12:21:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10454/5650 University of Bradford eThesis This thesis is hosted in Bradford Scholars – The University of Bradford Open Access repository. Visit the repository for full metadata or to contact the repository team © University of Bradford. This work is licenced for reuse under a Creative Commons Licence. The Nagorno Karabakh Conflict Causes of the conflict and obstacles to conflict resolution Hamidreza Nikkar-Esfahani Department of Peace Studies University of Bradford Submitted in accordance with the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy October 2009 Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................... vi Acknowledgments: ...................................................................................................... vii Common Abbreviations ............................................................................................. viii Introduction
    [Show full text]
  • St. Gregory the Illuminator Patron Saint of the Armenian Church
    St. Gregory the Illuminator Patron Saint of the Armenian Church (c. 257-c. 331) St. Gregory as one of the great missionaries of Christendom teaches us faith in God that is fueled with a Christian spirit of love and good works. Looking to St. Gregory as our example, we, too, can affect our world today. Gregory’s story is one of the most interesting in the annals of Christianity. With the arrival of the apostles, Thaddeus and Bartholomew, Christianity spread during the middle of the first century. The Armenian Christians were a small, scattered group. Nevertheless, they survived the persecutions of the first three centuries. Gregory’s early life and the account of the conversion of Armenia have been recorded by the historian, Agathangelos, who is traditionally known to have been King Tiridat’s secretary. In 238 AD, the King of Persia plotted to kill King Khosrov of Armenia. He recruited Anak, the father of Gregory, to do this wicked deed because Anak and Khosrov were cousins and the Armenian King would trust the would-be assassin. One day, while hunting, Anak killed Khosrov. Men loyal to the King pursued Anak and killed him, throwing his body into the river. The dying King gave orders to exterminate Anak’s family. Only one infant, Gregory, escaped from this slaughter. His Nanny speedily took him to safety to Cæsarea in Cappadocia. She was a converted Christian and thus raised her princely charge in the Christian faith and gave him a Greek name, Gregory. The boy became a fervent Christian, married a Christian named Mariam, whose brother was a well know missionary bishop, confessor and martyr.
    [Show full text]
  • Anāhitā: Transformations of an Iranian Goddess Inauguraldissertation Zur
    Anāhitā: Transformations of an Iranian Goddess Inauguraldissertation zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades eines Doktors der Philosophie dem Fachbereich Geschichts- und Kulturwissenschaften der Freien Universität Berlin vorgelegt von Manya Saadi-nejad 2019 First Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Maria Macuch Second Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Almut Hintze Date of defense: 15 April 2019 ii Table of Contents Acknowledgements vii A Note on Transcriptions viii Abbreviations ix Introduction 1 Chapter One: Scholarly Studies on Anāhitā 10 1.1 The Yašts and “monotheism” 13 1.1.1 The Ābān Yašt 14 1.2 Anāhitā’s Roots 15 1.3 Anāhitā’s Name and Epithets 20 1.4 Anāhitā’s description 23 Chapter Two: The Primary Sources 31 2.1 The Textual Sources in Iranian Languages: Avestan Texts 33 2.1.1 The Yasna 34 2.1.2 The Yašts 35 2.1.3 The Hāδōxt Nask 37 2.2 Middle Persian Sources 37 2.2.1 The Bundahišn 38 2.2.2 The Dēnkard 39 2.2.3 The Wizīdagīhā-ī Zādspram 40 2.2.4 The Zand ī Wahman Yasn 41 2.2.5 The Dādestān ī Mēnog ī Xrad 42 2.2.6 The Ardā Wīrāz nāmag 42 2.2.7 The Abadīh ud sahīgīh ī Sag(k)istān 43 2.2.8 The Ayādgār ī Wuzurg-mihr 43 2.3 Old and Middle Persian Inscriptions and Iconography 44 2.4 The Greco-Roman Texts 45 2.5 Vedic sources 46 2.6 Mesopotamian sources 47 2.7 Archaeological Sources 49 2.7.1 Indo-European Archeological Sites 49 2.7.2 Archaeological Sites in Iran 50 2.7.2.1 Anāhitā’s Temples 51 2.8 Sources from the Islamic Period 52 2.8.1 The Šāh-nāmeh (“Book of Kings”) 52 2.8.2 Other Sources from the Islamic Period 54 2.8.3 Oral and Folk Traditions 55 2.9 Problems
    [Show full text]
  • Dr. Anahit Khosroeva, Center for Assyrian Genocide Studies, Chicago, 2007, 127 Pages
    Anahit Khosroeva, PhD CURRICULUM VITAE Anahit Khosroeva, Ph.D. Full Legal Name: Anahit Khosroeva Telephone, etc.: +37410-529263/work/, E-mail: [email protected] Languages: Armenian, Russian, English, Assyrian (Limited) Education: 2003 Ph.D. on Assyrian Genocide Studies, Institute of Oriental Studies, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia 1998-2003 Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia 1994-1998 M.A, General History, Armenian State Teacher’s Training University, Yerevan city, Republic of Armenia 1982-1992 High school, Vanadzor city, Republic of Armenia Title of Ph.D. Thesis: The Assyrian Massacres in the Ottoman Turkey and on the Turkish Territories of Iran (late 19th – the first quarter of the 20th century) 1 Anahit Khosroeva, PhD EMPLOYMENT: 2015 – Present Leading Researcher at the Department of Armenian Genocide Studies, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia 2013 - Currently Associate Professor at Yerevan State University, Armenia 2003 – 2015 Senior researcher at the Department of Armenian Genocide Studies, Institute of History, National Academy of Sciences, Republic of Armenia 2006 – Currently Scholar in residence, Center for Middle Eastern Studies, North Park University of Chicago, USA 2004 - 2006 Associate Professor at “Haybusak” University, Yerevan, Armenia HONORS, AWARDS & MEDALS: 2019 For the services provided to Assyrian people awarded with special plaque “In Him we grow”, Sydney - St. Narsai Assyrian Christian College, Australia 2019 For the
    [Show full text]
  • (Rc 485–523) of Caucasian Albania in the Tale of Vačʽagan
    AleksanHakobyan The Creation of a “Pious” ImageofKing Vačʽagan II (r.c.485–523) of Caucasian Albania in the Tale of Vačʽagan (Early Sixth Century) The HistoryofAlbania is by the late tenth-century Armenian historian MovsēsDas- xurancʽi, (also known from historiographyand manuscripts as “Kałankatuacʽi”)who was from Artsakh.¹ This work is acompilation of numerous writings,bothlonger and shorter,which come from Artsakh. Since these works werecopied in avery literal manner,they have served as the basis for anumber of scientificcontributions pub- lished over the lastfifteen years on such texts as the Tale of Vačʽagan,the Historyof Catholicos Viro by Anonymous Kałankatuacʽi, the anonymous Historyofthe Year 684, the Canons of Ałuēn,among others. The first of these works was composed at the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth centurybyaneyewitness and has historicallybeen giventhe title of the Tale of Vačʽagan (in Armenian “Վաչագանի վէպ”–“Vačʽagani Vēp”;inGerman Wat- schagans Erzählung;inFrench ContedeVatchagan;and in Russian “Повесть оВача- гане”). MovsēsDasxurancʽicopied the Tale into chapters XIV and XVI–XXIII of the first book of his HistoryofAlbania.² The title of one of the chapters –“The life, con- duct,and regulations of Ałuankʽ defined by King Vačʽagan and the discovery of the holyrelics” (Dasx. 1.16,p.42) – must have been the original title of the entire book which the tenth-century historian divided up into chapters by inventing new titles for them. As Ihaveshown in previous publications,³ the Tale of Vačʽagan is amedieval panegyric text written in aclassicalstyle. That is, it is an apologetic hagiography that does not present achronologicalarrangement of facts by year but insteadde- scribes the laudable deeds of its hero in alogical order.The author’sgoal was not to depict acoherent history of Vačʽagan and his house but to present key challenges MovsēsKałankatuacʽi, History of the country of Ałouankʽ.Critical textand preface by V.
    [Show full text]
  • VRT{ANES K{ERT{O™ and the EARLY THEOLOGY of IMAGES1 By
    VRT{ANES K{ERT{O™ AND THE EARLY THEOLOGY OF IMAGES1 by THOMAS F. MATHEWS New York University Icon devotion, that is the religious cult of painted panels, seems to have been fairly widespread in early Christian times. The evidence is both physical, that is the witness of a sizeable corpus of surviving icons, and literary, that is the witness of written historical sources that describe or allude to the practice. The physical evidence is, of course, circumscribed by the conditions of historical preservation. Painted wooden panels are highly perishable with the result that, for example, in Constantinople not a single early icon has survived the turbulent history of the city, while on the other hand, remoteness from civilization and dry desert conditions are responsible for the preservation of the largest single collection of icons, that of St. Catherine’s Monastery at Mount Sinai in Egypt (founded 548-565). Sinai has preserved about three dozen icons dating between the sixth and the eighth centuries, for which Weitzmann’s stylistic analysis proposes a wide geographical provenance: from Egypt itself, from Pales- tine or Syria, and from the distant capital of the empire, Constantinople2. European collections hold several more early icons from Egypt, and recent research has uncovered a few more that are still in Egypt3. Mean- while the churches of Rome preserve four early icons4. Unfortunately, this very unevenly distributed physical corpus of icons contains very meager inscriptional or intrinsic evidence of dating or links to known historic personages. By stylistic analysis one or two of them may be as early as the fifth century, but the sixth century sees a surge in their production.
    [Show full text]